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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

Nestled amongst the quintet of stages present at Wychwood, little treats were revealed each day upon the Old Hookey stage thanks to the loving promotional duties of Doghouse Music, a Halifax based promotional outfit dedicated to bringing the best in independent music to the somewhat overlooked Midlands city. This year, Doghouse had been given the job of sourcing acts for the three days’ proceedings. A high maintenance task for even the largest of promotional teams, let

alone an organisation more accustomed to promoting gigs in churches as opposed to major music festivals, but the grass roots’ ethic of the outfit allowed them to forge a line-up that many acts across a range of genres, some of which were a far more attractive proposition than that being peddled upon the larger stages. A large round of applause for Doghouse music.  

Amongst the several dozen acts to appear upon the stage over the three days Jake Flowers’ early Saturday morning set proved to be a particular musical delicacy. Armed with nothing more than a guitar, a bass drum, a tambourine and a beautiful appreciation for the pseudo-melancholy, Flowers’ set evoked the spirits of early Jackson Browne, the image of the lone balladeer

being perpetuated  throughout. The tenderness of Flowers’ songs were effectively weighted by the percussive bass drum at his feet, sympathetically driving the songs with just enough gusto to veer Flowers away from the ever-disparaging title of ‘singer-songwriter’, a term which, nowadays at least, invokes thoughts of James Morrison as opposed to Neil Young. Flowers’ subtly nuanced voiced seemed the perfect vehicle for his songs of the lonesome moments of heartache as well as being the emotive core to the empathy felt whilst listening.

As with everything, some things are better than others. Doghouse’s line-up across the three days yielded acts which were undeniably stronger than others, and the finest of the weekend had to be The Travelling Band. The six-piece musical maelstrom took the place of Sunday afternoon Doghouse headliners playing to a tent rammed with ensuing onlookers, all awaiting something very special to take place. And take place it did. The travelling band had every member of the audience mesmerised by the end of the set, even beckoning a standing ovation. An encore would have been a sure thing had the festival’s timing issues been less rigid.

Every tune passionately melted folk, pop with a keen sense for the pshycadelic to devastating effect. Add to this, gorgeously textured four-piece harmonies, the result being a deeply eclectic inquiry into some 50 years of popular music. It’s unclear where The Travelling Band will be travelling next, but with a songs of this quality, performed as close to perfection as humanly possible it’s clear they’ll be travelling far and wide, gaining standing ovations from any number of entranced audiences.

I only hope Doghouse have a say in Wychwood’s 2010 line-up, because with the calibre of this year’s acts, it would be an utter shame if they didn’t.